Goins hopes to put bat in battle
The Jays’ starter at second a year ago will have to hit his way back to the majors
DUNEDIN, FLA.— Ryan Goins went home to Round Rock, Texas, this winter, looked up his old friends at a local batting cage, and immediately went to work on his hitting.
Nothing out of the ordinary for the 27-year-old Jays second baseman, except for the frame of mind he brought with him.
“I think I had a lot of (hitting) information that wasn’t successful for me last year so I just went back to my hitting from school and the minor leagues, just simplify things a bit,” Goins said as a Jays split squad lost 1-0 to Houston on Monday. Toronto’s other half fell 6-4 to Detroit.
Goins entered Jays camp in a fiveway dogfight for second base. Maicer Izturis, Ramon Santiago, Steve Tolleson, Mune Kawasaki and Goins have designs on either winning the job outright, or earning a backup spot.
Goins won the job out of camp a year ago, but his .188 average ultimately led to a sentence in AAA Buffalo, allowing Kawasaki to play second regularly after May. There is more competition this year, with a slight shift in focus.
“We have good players in camp and Gibby (manager John Gibbons) has moved (Izturis and Tolleson) around to shortstop and third base, so its not, I’m the starting second baseman, it’s what role I fit into,” bench coach DeMarlo Hale said.
The Jays are looking for versatility in part because of shortstop Jose Reyes, whose value in the field — as measured by defensive runs saved, ultimate zone rating and defensive WAR metrics — has declined bit by bit over the past several seasons.
Reyes, who has had hamstring, ankle, and shoulder injuries in recent years, remains a major key to the Jays plans, but there is no secret he will be given more off-days and replaced for defensive purposes, de- pending on situations. And the notion of Reyes playing in left field has at least been broached in some corners of the media.
As for the Jays’ second basemen, Izturis, recovered from his seasonending knee surgery in 2014, appears to be the favourite for the starting job. Izturis wears a brace now when he plays, and requires treatment almost daily to loosen his knee joint.
Goins has the best range and glove of any infielder in the organization and, while he has flashed brilliance at second, his true position is short. He replaced Reyes in the seventh inning Monday.
Goins and Jonathan Diaz are the only two players in camp who could play shortstop outright, and the two will likely make up the double-play tandem in Buffalo, if Goins does not hit enough to make the Jays’ roster.
“I hit in the major leagues in my first year (.252 in 34 games in 2013), but last year I made too many adjustments that didn’t work, trying to hit the other way, instead of going gap to gap now and driving the ball everywhere,” said Goins.
“That’s the thing people don’t see, the adjustments and how you deal with them. In the end, I was the guy swinging the bat and that’s the thing I can control. I think my defence speaks for itself.”